The bank, created via merger of Sumitomo Trust & Banking
Co. and Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. in April, plans to boost
assets under management by 7 percent to 63 trillion yen by March
2016, Hitoshi Tsunekage, chairman of the company, said in an
interview on Dec. 28.

“Doldrums in Europe and the stronger yen are pushing
acquisition costs down to attractive levels and providing us
with a better investment environment,” he said. “There are
many well-performing asset management firms in the U.K.,” he
said without elaborating on a specific target.

An acquisition would follow the Tokyo-based bank’s 35
million pound ($53.9 million) purchase of a 40 percent stake in
London-based asset manager NewSmith LLP. Europe’s debt crisis
has increased the risk of government and bank defaults across
the region, raising credit costs and pushing banks to sell
assets to boost capital.

NewSmith had 2.1 billion pounds worth of assets under
management as of Dec. 31, 2010, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust said in a
statement on Dec. 14 announcing an agreement to buy the stake.

The purchase of foreign assets by Japanese companies has
been fueled, in part, by the yen’s strength against other major
currencies. Japanese acquisitions abroad have climbed to about
$88 billion this year, the most in any of the 12 years for which
Bloomberg data is available.

The 17-nation euro has dropped against the dollar and yen
this year amid concern the debt crisis will weigh on the
region’s economic growth. Europe’s shared currency fell
yesterday to 100.06 yen, the weakest level since June 2001.

The yen has risen 4.6 percent against the dollar this year
to 77.6 yen as of 5:30 p.m. in Tokyo. The currency is the best
performer and only gainer among the 16 major currencies tracked
by Bloomberg.